Winter Birds

 This winter has been so very cold!  

We've had an artic blast dipping our temperatures below 0 degrees.  I think -15 was the lowest I saw) with "feels like" temperatures of -27.  Brrr!  We were colder than Wisconsin where my kids live and even colder than Juneau, Alaska!

The Carolina wren in the video is enjoying the suet in this cold weather.  It is helpful to feed the birds in these extremely cold times when they need more energy to survive, when natural seed sources are depleted.  

The downey woodpecker and flicker also enjoy this suet feeder.

The starling is eating it, but this suet isn't his favorite.  I made the mistake of making a home-made concoction filled with peanutbutter and such delicious things that I had about 30 starlings attack it and eat it up in 1 day!!   The one I have now they aren't so fond of but only do so because there is not much choice out there.  

Starlings are a nuisance bird, although I must say I do enjoy the sounds they make.   But they are bullies and destructive to the native birds.  They can also damage crops and transmit diseases.  

Often as starlings gather in the evenings before they roost, they will begin swooping and "dancing" in the sky by the hundreds and thousands.  It is really quite beautiful, and how they do that without crashing into one another is quite amazing!  What a phenomenon!  This is called a murmuration and I found a video above that you can enjoy.  Last August we watched a murmuration of starlings and purple martins in Wichita. 

I have this open feeder that I keep safflower seed in.  The starlings generally will try it but then leave because they don't much care for it.  But other birds enjoy it!

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

Several doves enjoy this feeder also.

The juncos eat seed that falls on the deck or on the ground.

A friend gave me this feeder.  It reminds me of the prayer

    God is great

    God is good

    Let us thank Him for this food

    By His hand we all are fed

    Give us Lord our daily bread.

This was a pricey feeder but it is great for keeping out the big birds and I put choice morsels in there for the finches.

In the winter, male goldfinches tend to become more or olive/brown, losing their vibrant yellow color.  But I noticed this past week that they are turning more yellow!  Spring is on its way!

Here is how gold they get in the spring and summer.

One day, I saw a set of prints going from the big tree out toward the feeder and also to the tree, but no prints connecting them.  I couldn't figure it out.

My husband knew.  The squirrel came from the big tree, jumped onto the rock, then onto the little redbud tree.  He climbed it and jumped across to the bird feeder and tried his hand (or paws) to get into the bird feeder.  But it is squirrel proof, so with no luck, jumped back to the ground and scampered back to the big tree.

Here is a picture of the squirrel trying to get into the feeder in the past.  The little feeder holds nyjer or thistle for the finches, chickadees and downeys.

This past Christmas, my husband purchased me this little feeder that has a camera with it.  I am still trying to figure out how to get crisp, clear pictures.  Someone from a Facebook group says that they have traded out a lense, so I am thinking I will do that.

My Nikon obviously takes much better pictures, but I will try to figure this one out!

In the front of our home, I have this feeder that I fill with sunflower seeds.

I received this puzzle for Christmas from my daughter and son-in-law.  It was so fun, since I have many of these birds that visit me!

What birds are you feeding?